No Need For Kiyone and Mihoshi
by kiyone4ever
Summary: What happens when Kiyone gets a chance to undo her partnership with Mihoshi? How will her choice affect their lives and everyone else's?
1. Chapter 1

Hello! Have you ever wondered what it would be like if Kiyone had a chance to undo the partnership between her and Mihoshi? How would it affect their lives and the lives of the other members of the Masaki home...? 

Author's note: I do not own the rights to the Tenchi characters, nor certain others who might be recognized in this story.

**No Need For Kiyone and Mihoshi**

Chapter 1:

* * *

Kiyone stormed angrily into the Masaki house. Her face and clothes were covered in soot. Mihoshi was trailing beseechingly behind her.

"I'm _sorry_, Kiyone! I'm _sorry_!" She cried miserably.

"You're _ALWAYS_ sorry Mihoshi!" Kiyone yelled, turning on her. You _never_ pay attention, but you're _always_ sorry! It happens too many times and I'm sick of always having more work than when I started because of _YOUR_ screw-ups!

"It'll take me two days to take that generator apart and get it fixed now!

"Now..." She told her partner. "I'm going to get some clothes and take a long soak in the onsen, and then I need to get back to trying to fix that generator. And _**YOU**,_ Mihoshi are going to **_STAY OUT OF MY WAY!_**"

With that she left a forlorn looking Mihoshi standing alone in the entryway.

Kiyone tried to relax in the onsen, but could not quite get her mind off her frustrations. Mihoshi... What did I do to be cursed with you?

When Kiyone finished with her bath, she dried off and put on her change of clothes. She reached for the door handle, dreading the return to the outside world. She turned the handle, but instead of the exit, the door opened up to a strange place, the likes of which she had never seen before. A white fog was all around her and as she turned around, the onsen had vanished. All around her was nothing. Nothing save one solitary figure.

_OKaaay.._. Kiyone thought. This is strange even for this house... I must have fallen asleep in the bath and I'm dreaming now. Alright... I'll play along. She approached the lone figure, who was holding some sort of staff. As she got closer, she could see the other figure was a woman about her age. Her hair was a dark green and she was wearing what looked like some kind of sailor's suit and a dark skirt.

"Hello...?" Kiyone asked. The woman seemed to smile knowingly at her. "Excuse me...? Could you tell me where I am? What this place is?"

"A crossroads of sorts you might say." The woman answered her.

Kiyone frowned. _Why does every answer in a dream have to be wrapped in a riddle?_ She wondered. _Why can't I just get a straight answer for once?_

"Well... Since this is my dream. Would you mind telling me who you are?"

The other woman smiled as if humoring her. "I am the guardian of this place."

Kiyone sighed in frustration._ Great! Another answer leading me nowhere_.

"Maybe I'm someone who could grant you a wish." The other suggested. "Your partner, Mihoshi... Would you like me to take you to a world where you wouldn't be partnered with her anymore?"

_When do we leave?_ Kiyone thought. "Sure..." She said, not believing a word of it. "Let's see what paradise looks like."

"Very well detective." The guardian said as she raised her staff. "Be careful what you wish for..." The large red orb on her staff glowed brightly and the world changed in a flash.

Kiyone looked around her. It appeared to be about midday and the wail of sirens could be heard. They were somewhere in a crowded city, but Kiyone couldn't place the scene. "Where on Earth are we?"

"We aren't on _Earth_." Her companion stated, gesturing Kiyone's attention to the hovercars in streets. Kiyone saw it and then looked up to see a blue sky with two moons overhead. At just that moment, another hovercar; this one with GP markings, screamed past them, missing them both by inches.

**"Hey! You idiot!"** Kiyone shouted after it. **"You nearly ran us over!"**

"I'm afraid he can't hear you Kiyone." Her companion said. "Infact, no one can see or hear us." She added. "But let's see where he was in such a hurry to get to..." She followed as the orb glowed once more.

* * *

They reappeared amidst a scene of chaos. Kiyone looked to see a hovercar smashed headlong into the front of a bank building. 

"_Oh great!_" Kiyone overheard one of the officers. "_Another Mihoshi special! The chief is gonna love this!_" The officer muttered.

Kiyone turned to her companion in irritation. "So we've come all this however long way just so you can show me Mihoshi making another disaster?"

"You misunderstand detective. This was no accident." The other woman told her. "This was quite deliberate I assure you."

To emphasize her words, she directed Kiyone's attention to the front door of the bank, where a grim faced Mihoshi Kuramitsu was ushering out a dazed suspect into the arms of the waiting officers.

Mihoshi holstered her weapon and wiped her brow as an unwelcome voice spoke up.

"_Well, well... Another fine day's work Mihoshi_!" Detective Mitsuki chimed. "_Too bad Kiyone isn't around to see this one._"

It was a mistake. Kiyone had never thought to see the look she now saw on Mihoshi's face as she turned on Mitsuki and in a swift motion, seized the woman by her uniform tie with one hand and jerked her to within inches of Mihoshi's seething face...

Mihoshi's voice was a lethal whisper that sent a chill into Kiyone as she heard it.

_"If you **EVER **speak Kiyone's name to me like that again, I'll kick your butt so hard you'll clear the gravity well."_ Mihoshi said and roughly shoved Mitsuki back.

Kiyone watched stunned.

Then it hit her...

"What did Mitsuki mean about me not being around to see this?" She asked, dreading the answer.

Her companion looked at her sadly. "The reason you and Mihoshi aren't partners detective.

"You see... In this world, you're no longer alive...

* * *

**To Be Continued:**


	2. Chapter 2

Okay! Thanks for the first reviews on this story! I LOVE reviews, but I know that there are more of you reading! So lets hear from all of you!

In this chapter, Kiyone learns how history has taken a shocking turn.

Again, I do not own _Tenchi_ or its characters, or certain other recognizable characters in this story

**No Need For Kiyone and Mihoshi:**

Chapter 2: 

* * *

Kiyone looked at her guide, stunned and in disbelief. "Wait!" She objected. "_What do you mean I'm 'dead'?... _As I recall, I was very much _ALIVE_ this morning." 

"That is the history you remember." Her guide informed her. "In this timeline, you've been dead for three years now."

"How?" Kiyone wanted to know

The orb in her companion's staff glowed again and they were transported to a lonely and deserted street. It was nighttime. Kiyone recognized the location on planet Mura.

"You know this place." The guide said. It was a statement, not a question.

"Yeah..." Kiyone said. "I remember it...

"This is the city of Freeport on Mura... Mihoshi and I were assigned here shortly after we were made partners."

"Take a close look detective." She was instructed. "Do you remember this night?"

Kiyone studied her surroundings. She knew this street well. It was part of her normal patrol zone at this time. There was an all night diner on this street and she and Mihoshi would usually finish their shift there. She looked and saw a familiar unmarked GP hovercar turn onto the street. It was easy to recognize because of a few dents she remembered Mihoshi putting into an otherwise brandnew hovercar...

As it drew closer, Kiyone could see that only one person was in it. _Herself._ As the vehicle passed, she followed it with her gaze and then she saw another hovercar coming from the opposite direction. Somehow it too looked familiar, though Kiyone could not yet place it.

The two vehicles passed and then her memory clicked as she watched herself wheel around the unmarked cruiser and turn on her lights. "I remember this now!" She exclaimed. "I... I mean she's stopping him for not having tags on the vehicle."

"Tell me." Her guide said. "Where is your partner on this night?"

"She was _supposed_ to be back at our apartment studying." Kiyone answered. "She had a pilot's certification exam the next day and I told her that she needed to study. I would take care of this shift myself."

"What happened?"

"It was the end of my shift and I was heading to the diner when I stopped this guy for his tags and just as I was asking him for his license and registration, Mihoshi popped out of nowhere, calling over to me and startled the hell out of me! I almost didn't notice the blaster he had tucked next to his seat..."

"It turns out that this man had committed an armed robbery earlier that day..." Kiyone's companion noted. "His capture was quite a feather in your cap, wasn't it?"

"Yeah." Kiyone agreed. "I'm just lucky that when Mihoshi startled me like that, I didn't end up getting shot instead."

Her guide nodded. "Let's see what happens."

As Kiyone watched, her past self stopped the suspect vehicle. She approached the driver's door and tapped on the window. The driver rolled it down. She asked him for his license and registration...

The next thing Kiyone knew was that she was watching herself be shot by the suspect at point blank range. It was surreal as she saw her own body fall and the suspect gun his engine and race off into the night.

"But..." _How?_ Kiyone cried in her mind. _This can't be happening!_

"There's something missing, isn't there Kiyone?"

Kiyone pulled her shocked stare away from her own fallen form and looked around as she tried to make sense of any of this. Then her eyes widened as it hit her...

"Your partner Mihoshi isn't here, is she?"

Kiyone shook her head 'No'.

"Memory is a very elusive and tricky thing sometimes... Think back to this night Kiyone. When _exactly _did you see the blaster?

Kiyone frowned in thought.

"In truth, you didn't see it until _after_ your partner arrived...

"You see, _he _was even more startled than you were. He froze, giving you a chance to notice the danger."

"But then... Where _is_ Mihoshi this time?"

"She's back at your apartment studying for her exam in the morning. Just like you told her to."

"All this, just because she was doing what she was _supposed _to?" Kiyone said in disbelief.

"This and much more I'm afraid. It only gets worse from here..."

* * *

**To Be Continued:**


	3. Chapter 3

Hello again! Once more thanks to all my readers and reviewers! Thanks!

Disclaimer: I _still _do not own any of these characters!

* * *

**No Need For Kiyone and Mihoshi:**

Chapter 3: 

* * *

Kiyone sat down on the cold dark street in a state of shock and disbelief. "_This can't be happening..._" She murmured in denial. Yet it _was_ happening. She had just literally witnessed her own life end in a flash before her eyes. And now her guide was telling her that things were going to get _worse_...? 

"How could this get any worse?" She asked her guide in despair.

"This is but the first ripple in the pond, detective. Consider the lives of those around you..." The woman said as the orb glowed once more. They returned to the scene at the bank in time to see Mihoshi confronting a very pale and nervous young officer.

_**"And just what were you doing back there detective!"** _She demanded. _**"Someday you just may have a partner who is counting on you to be there!**_

_**"You had better hurry up and get it together lady because the bad guys don't give a damn if you're ready or not!"**_

_"Y..Yes Ma'am!" _The young officer stammered out.

Mihoshi let out a sigh and opened the driver's door of the rammed hovercar. She reached over and opened the other door for her partner, who dejectedly got in. For the first time ; however, Mihoshi let out a small smile. Strangely to Kiyone, it looked more like an expression that belonged on her own face, rather than that of her exuberant and carefree partner.

_"I will say one thing." _Mihoshi told her young partner. _"I should have used Mitsuki's car for this..."_

"Don't worry." Kiyone's companion said as Kiyone's eyes followed the battered hovercar as it pulled out. "Mihoshi can be rough sometimes, but she always remembers the patience you always had with her... She'll just tell her partner to go home and not to worry about it."

_Patience? _Kiyone thought shame faced as she considered how she had yelled at Mihoshi earlier._ Yeah... I'm a real saint..._

"Come. There is still much to see."

"Wait!" Kiyone said. "Wait..." She repeated as her guide lowered her staff and looked at her.

"Please... Who are you? Is there a name I can call you...?" Kiyone asked as she felt more alone now than she ever had before. "Please..."

Her guide's expression softened in sympathy. "Call me 'Trista' " She said in understanding.

"Now." She said. "You need to see where your partner's life has gone." Trista said as she raised her staff once more.

* * *

They appeared in a sparsely furnished, very spartan looking apartment. One thing that struck Kiyone was how bare it all looked. 

"This is where Mihoshi lives now." Trista informed her.

"It's so empty in here." Kiyone commented. _So barren... Where are her pictures...? The clutter...? That silly monkey clock she has...?_

"In a very real sense, the Mihoshi you remember died with you on that street that night." Trista said. "She's never forgiven herself that she wasn't there when you needed her...

"Have you noticed...?" She continued. "There is only one picture in this apartment." Trista told her and pointed to Mihoshi's dresser. On it was a picture of Kiyone... Not Mihoshi and Kiyone, but just Kiyone.

"She came very close to quitting the Galaxy Police after you died, but she felt that if she ran away like that, it would be like betraying you all over again.

"On that night, she knew that you were right. She did need to study harder... But if she had been a better officer, she wouldn't have needed to be at the apartment that night. She would have been there for you... Or at least died there as well like she should have."

_"That's crazy!"_ Kiyone exclaimed. "There's no way she could have known what was going to happen! I can't believe she could blame herself for that!"

"All she knows is that she wasn't there when you needed her and it's been destroying her bit by bit for three years now.

"You see... In her eyes, that carefree woman you remember is the one who was responsible for your death, so she's been doing her best to erase that person completely. This job is all she has now. In her mind, she knows that she can never be as good a cop as you were, but she has to keep going. So she goes out and pushes as hard as she can, fighting the battle because it's all she has. And she'll keep fighting until it destroys her completely.

_Oh God! What have I done...? _Kiyone cried in her mind.

* * *

**To Be Continued:**


	4. Chapter 4

In this chapter, we get a glimpse of the fates that have befallen the rest of the Masaki household...

Disclaimer: I do not own Tenchi or any of its characters, nor do I own Sailor Pluto...

As Always, Thanks to all my readers and reviewers. Thanks!

**No Need For Kiyone and Mihoshi: **Chapter 4 

* * *

"Trista?" Kiyone asked. "I just want to go home now... I don't know if I can take anymore of this." She said with a plea in her eyes. 

"I'm sorry Kiyone." Trista replied. "But you made a choice and you must see the consequences of that choice..." Trista told her with regret and sadness.

"Now the ripple expands outward, detective. It is time to see what has happened to everyone else in the Masaki home." Trista said as the orb glowed once more.

* * *

They reappeared in the living room of the Masaki home. At first glance, it all seemed normal to Kiyone. The house was still there and looked as it always had. But after a minute, Kiyone realized that something had changed. The energy and feel of this place had changed. Then she heard as Nobuyuki called his son from the kitchen. 

"_Tenchi! Dinner is almost ready. Go get your grandpa from the shrine, okay?_"

"_Sure thing, dad._" Tenchi said mildly, but to Kiyone there seemed to be a wrong note in the young man's voice. She followed as Tenchi put on his shoes and stepped outside. For a moment, Tenchi paused looking absently up at the sky and the stars, as if searching for something.

_Wait a minute. _Kiyone thought. _Why is Nobuyuki fixing dinner? Where is Sasami...? Come to think about it, I don't see or hear Ryoko, Ayeka, Ryo-Ohki, or Washu either... _Trista interupted her thoughts as she too watched Tenchi.

"Poor boy." Trista said. "He knows something is missing from his heart but he doesn't even know what it is."

"But _where _is everybody?" Kiyone asked. Ryoko... Ayeka... Sasami...?"

"They never came here detective." Trista told her. "Remember Kiyone: It was _Mihoshi_ who first chased Ryoko to Earth and caused her to crash. _In this timeline, _Mihoshi was never assigned to this area. Ryoko had little problem evading the officer who did draw the pursuit...

"That also means that Ayeka never stopped to respond to a distress call from this world, because no one ever made such a call...

"Sasami; therefore, never came here to find her sister...

"And Washu; of course, is still sealed inside the demon cave because the others aren't here to let her out." Trista then turned to face Kiyone directly. "But this is the house as it looked six months ago..." Once more the orb glowed and Kiyone was confronted with a scene that would have been a nightmare if she didn't recognize it as an all too terrible reality.

The Masaki house was gone. In its place was a collapsing old structure, overrun with weeds and vines. Kiyone remembered this all too well...

Trista nodded, echoing Kiyone's thoughts. "Now you see that in this world, Tenchi no longer exists because when the criminal Kain escaped, you and the others weren't here to go back in time and save Achika."

"Once in the past, Kain continued on his rampage of destruction. He was eventually stopped, but only at an enormous cost in lives."

_Tenchi gone? And how many others for my own selfishness? _Kiyone asked herself bitterly.

She knew that she wouldn't like what she learned, but she had to know... But then, _where are_ Ryoko, Ayeka, and Sasami?"

Trista sighed. "Well, having never come to Earth and lived with the rest of you and falling in love with Tenchi, Ryoko has never reformed. She is still plundering her way across the galaxy and Nagi is still hunting her. One day they will meet and one of them will die... Unless; of course, Mihoshi gets there first." Trista said darkly.

Kiyone's eyes widened at the implication. The thought that sweet, gentle Mihoshi would kill someone who should become one of her closest friends...

Sinking further into despair, Kiyone was compelled to ask. "And Ayeka and Sasami?" She voiced, her heart begging for some hope in this terrible new reality.

Trista knew what Kiyone was thinking, but knew she could offer no comfort to her. "We must go to Jurai for that." And the orb glowed once more.

Kiyone recognized the gigantic chamber they arrived in as being the throne room of Jurai's Royal Palace. On one of two huge thrones sat a distant looking Ayeka. "Ayeka is the Queen of Jurai now?" She asked.

"Yes..." Trista said sadly. "Although she would rather be a barmaid now than to sit on that throne." Trista directed her attention to the door behind the thrones as the Emperor of Jurai entered.

"_All Hail Emperor Yosho!"_ The cry sounded throughout the chamber.

**"Kagato!" **Kiyone spat as she recognized the renegade member of the House of Jurai who after a long ago defeat by the real Yosho, had returned claiming to _be _Yosho after spending decades studying and refining the dark facets of Jurai's power.

"Yes." Trista said softly. "There was no one to stop him when he returned...

"Ayeka was already on Jurai then, so there was no need to bring her back, but Kagato chose to marry her instead of executing her, in order to further strengthen his claim on the throne.

"At first, Ayeka was as taken as anyone by the return of the legendary _Yosho_. Soon; however, she found how ruthless and merciless he was and began to suspect that somehow he was a fake...But she dares never speak of this because Kagato keeps one thing more dear to her than anything else held over her to guarantee Ayeka's behavior...

Kiyone's voice was a whisper as she spoke but a single word. _"Sasami..."_

* * *

**To Be Continued:**


	5. Chapter 5

Hello! It has been a while, but here is chapter 5 in our story...

**No Need For Kiyone and Mihoshi:** Chapter 5

* * *

"_Sasami_"... Kiyone whispered.

Trista nodded sadly in confirmation.

"_What did that_ _**bastard **do to her?_" Kiyone demanded to know.

"Nothing _physically_ yet." Trista said. "For Ayeka, it is more the fear of what he _might _do that keeps her under Kagato's control." The orb glowed yet once more and they were in one of the many long corridors in the palace... Kiyone watched as a withdrawn looking Ayeka passed two of the palace maids.

_"The poor dear..."_ The older looking one commented to the other one. _"She's so worried about her sister; Princess Sasami..."_

_"And the doctors still don't know what caused the princess's illness?"_ The other one asked.

_"I'm afraid not."_ The first one replied. _"No one but Ayeka herself is even allowed to go near her... I hear that the doctors are worried that outside contact could expose the princess to sicknesses that she might not survive in her weakened condition..."_

"Is that true?" Kiyone asked Trista. "Is Sasami ill?" She questioned in despair.

"No." Trista answered bitterly. "A lie to explain her absence to the public.

"Come." She told Kiyone as she led the way through the corridors to an isolated set of chambers. At the door stood a guard in a black uniform. He was a thug; Kiyone could see, plain and simple.

They entered the room. On the outside, it looked little different than any other set of chambers in the palace; elaborate carvings and lavish appointments, but Kiyone still felt the coldness of a cell and she noted the poorly concealed cameras in the room.

By the window sat a lonely figure. Princess Sasami looked out onto a world now forbidden her. Kiyone stood only a foot from her, but a reality apart.

Trista shook her head sadly. "Rarely, Kagato will allow Ayeka to visit with her. Beyond that, she has no contact with any other living being. Her food is served by remotes and she is tutored by machines.

"Kagato has ordered her health be monitored closely... Having her alive makes controling her sister easier.

"But the child will not survive much longer, I fear..."

"What do you mean?" Kiyone asked.

"She has lost all hope, detective. She knows that she will never be allowed to leave this place and she is on the verge of giving up..."

_No!_ Kiyone cried in her heart. Sasami was always the one who always had faith that things would be alright. _Kagato should rot in hell! And I should be right there beside him if I let this happen._ She thought angrily at herself.

Although she knew that Sasami would not even be aware of it, Kiyone reached out to put a hand on her shoulder with a gentle squeeze... Tears were rolling down Kiyone's face.

"Sasami... _I swear to you! I won't let this happen!... I'll find some way to make it right, I promise!" _She said and spun on Trista...

_**"Tell me how to fix this!" **_She demanded. _**"Don't you dare tell me this can't be fixed, because I'm going to and you are going to help me!" **_She declared.

"Actually, detective." Trista said looking on her with a smile, as if she had been waiting for this. "There _is _a way..."

* * *

**To Be Continued:**


	6. Chapter 6

Hello! Here is chapter six! Please enjoy!

As always: Thank you to all my readers and especially my reviewers!

All previous disclaimers still apply...

**No Need For Kiyone and Mihoshi:**

Chapter 6: 

* * *

"_There is a way." _Trista said with a smile. 

"What is it?" Kiyone demanded. "Whatever it is, _I'll do it!_"

Trista held up a hand in pause. "Before I tell you, I have to make it clear that if you suceed, everything will be as it was... _Everything, _Kiyone... Mihoshi will still be your partner and she will still be as accident prone as you remember.

_"Make sure this is what you want, after this day there is no going back." _Trista told her.

_"I don't care!"_ Kiyone answered. _"Look at this universe! Everything is wrong here! _All this misery because Kiyone thought she was getting a bad deal! They deserve better than this! Sasami deserves more than this... Mihoshi...

"Mihoshi... My partner... Should be making some silly little joke or bugging me to go out to the karaoke bar... Not acting like...

"Me..." Kiyone whispered.

Trista put a hand on her shoulder in comfort. "You feel you've treated her badly, don't you detective?"

"I know I have." Kiyone replied.

"There is someone you have always treated far worse than Mihoshi, detective... Yourself.

"Most cadets at the Galaxy Police Academy would be happy if they graduated in the top third of their class. You were second in your graduating class and yet you were unhappy with that."

"I could have been first if I had tried harder."

_"Second best is the first loser_?" Trista questioned. "Not to the people who care about you Kiyone. To them, you _**are **_the best...

"Now if you're trying for total perfection. I can save you some trouble Kiyone, because you'll never make it. You are a human being detective and that means by definition you'll never be perfect! Not you, not Tenchi, not Washu or Ayeka. Not even me detective.

"I've made more than a few mistakes over time. Some were nearly disasterous. I was just lucky that I had friends to help me. Friends alot like your's Kiyone! I mean the real ones, like Ryoko and Ayeka, not the ones like Mitsuki.

"To your real friends, you have nothing you have to prove to them. To the others, nothing you can do ever _will_ prove anything to them.

"Now." She said. "Let's see what we can do to end this nightmare. Shall we detective?" Trista said as the orb glowed once more...

* * *

They reappeared in the past. Kiyone recognized their location as being in the apartment she and Mihoshi shared on Mura. At the kitchen table, Mihoshi sat with a stack of manuals, studying for her exam the next day. The time on the clock on the wall was 21:43. 

"We are now exactly two hours and eight minutes before your past self pulls over that hovercar and history decides whether you survive or not... If Mihoshi can be distracted sufficiently to abandon her studies, she will go to find you and you will survive this night. If not, then the altered history you have just witnessed will come to pass..."

"Great!" Kiyone quipped. "Look at her! The one time I actually need for her to goof off and she's acting like she's _glued_ to those books! Not to mention the fact she can't even tell we're here!"

Trista smiled slightly. "Though it will be difficult detective, I can focus my power so you can interact with this setting. Your partner will still be unable to see or hear you; for if she did so, it might trigger a time paradox, but you will be able to manipulate objects in a limited fashion."

Kiyone sighed. _Why did it always have to be the hard way?_

"Remember Kiyone, we only get one chance at this." Trista warned.

"Right." Kiyone answered with a nod.

Trista concentrated with visible effort as her staff glowed. After a moment, she nodded to Kiyone that all was ready.

Kiyone's first tried slamming shut the kitchen window. She pushed down on it as hard as she could and caused it to slam shut... Mihoshi merely glanced up momentarily before returning to her studies.

_"...See chapter 14, subsection 5 for emergency procedures..." _

"Hmmm... Maybe a little music will get Mihoshi's attention." Kiyone thought. She went over to the stereo and turned on "_Benarra's Symphony a'Sympatico."_ and slowly turned up the volume. Soon, Mihoshi was even humming in tune with the orchestra...

_Unfortunately _it did not seem to disrupt Mihoshi's concentration as she continued to study...

"..._In the event of a catastrophic decompression..."_

_Okay! _Kiyone thought. _We'll just have to change stations..._ She flipped the dial to a station playing _'Underground Slam' _music. A shrill that would have put any of Earth's "Heavy Metal" bands to shame in its intensity. Mihoshi hated it as did Kiyone and most anyone with a pair of working ears. Moreover, Kiyone had turned the volume to max. She immediately covered her ears as did Trista, who even seemed nauseous at the incomprehensible noise. Kiyone looked on in apparent triumph as Mihoshi closed her book sharply and got up to end the noise.

Unfortunately the earth shaking racket was too much for the old set of speakers they had and the stereo went dead as they burned out. Mihoshi looked at the dead stereo in confusion for a moment then sat back down, resuming her studies.

Kiyone was now painfully aware that time was now beginning to slip away as she tried everything she could think of to distract Mihoshi.

She tried opening the refrigerator, hoping Mihoshi's stomach would distract her. Mihoshi merely got up, holding the book in one hand as she reached for a bottle of fruit juice with the other hand, closed the door with her foot and returned to the table all without even looking up from the manual.

_"...See paragraph twentythree of the 'Space Navigation Act' , subparagraph two..."_

Kiyone swore... everything she had tried and _nothing!_ She wanted nothing more than to whack Mihoshi with the big cast iron skillet sitting by the sink, but she needed Mihoshi conscious, not out cold on the floor.

Then she saw the picture on the counter. It was a shot of the both of them and had been taken on the day Kiyone had been promoted to Detective First Class. A thin smile played on her lips as she considered it.

_"Come on Mihoshi, people are counting on us...!_

_"Come on partner... Don't let me down!" _Kiyone said to herself as she knocked the picture off the counter and watched it hit the floor and the frame shatter.

Mihoshi looked up. She saw the picture laying on the floor. Closing her book, she got up and went over. Carefully, she plucked the picture from the wreckage and gently checked it for damage, then carefully set it aside. After sweeping up the broken frame, she returned to the picture and stared at it for a minute. Then she set it back down and reached for her coat...

Kiyone was overjoyed with relief.

"**Yes!** We've done it!" She exulted as Mihoshi left the apartment. Then she saw the clock on the wall...

**"Oh no!"** She exclaimed as she saw the time. _"We're too late...!" _

* * *

**To Be Continued...**


	7. Chapter 7

Hi! We're here now with the conclusion of this story!

A reminder; of course, that I do not own Tenchi or any of its characters, nor do I own Sailor Moon or any of its characters.

Thank You to all my readers and reviewers! Enjoy!

**No Need For Kiyone and Mihoshi**

Chapter 7: 

* * *

_"We're too late!"_ Kiyone exclaimed in horror. The clock on the wall read 23:39. Kiyone now knew that she had twelve minutes left to live. _And then what? _She wondered. She rushed out the door behind Mihoshi and prayed for a miracle as Trista followed.

"It takes at least fifteen minutes to get from our apartment to the diner." Kiyone said. "And that's taking the fastest route we know!" She watched as Mihoshi turned down the next street. "_Kami sama!" _Kiyone exclaimed. _"She's going the wrong way!"_

Kiyone watched helpless as the pit in her stomach grew.

"This route _is_ in almost in a direct line though, isn't it?" Trista asked, suspiciously unworried.

"Yes... But it's blocked off! There's a fence running along the alleyway behind the shops on this side of the street..." Kiyone checked her watch. _Almost out of time!_

They came upon the fence that Kiyone had spoke of and continued to follow Mihoshi. It was then that Mihoshi came to the gate in the fence.

Mihoshi pressed against it and it swung open, catching Mihoshi off guard as she nearly tripped at this point. Kiyone was also caught off guard.

"Wait a minute..." She said in an astonished whisper. "This gate is_ always_ locked..." As Mihoshi wandered through the open gate. Kiyone and Trista followed behind her. Mihoshi proceeded straight ahead and through a narrow gap between two of the shops...

Kiyone saw as Mihoshi's eyes lit up in that childlike manner of hers as she saw her partner standing next to the hovercar.

_"Kiyone!"_

Kiyone Makibi checked her watch. 23:50. She looked on in overwhelmed relief as history; _the correct history,_ Kiyone added to herself, repeated itself.

_"FREEZE!" _She heard her past self shout at the driver. _"DON'T MOVE A MUSCLE!_" The past Kiyone backed up slightly, never wavering her attention and instructed the driver to carefully open his door from the outside. As he did so, she instructed him to lay spread out and face down on the ground and proceeded to handcuff him.

_"What are you doing here Mihoshi! Trying to get me killed? You're supposed to be home studying!" _She yelled.

_She's such an idiot! _Kiyone thought as she observed herself. _Who would have believed it? It was that crazy 'Mihoshi Luck' that just saved us all!_

"You knew how this would turn out all along! Didn't you?" She said, turning on Trista, whose face bore a calm and serene smile.

"Yes." Trista admitted. "But it was more important for you to see how this happened."

Kiyone gave her a rueful smile as she acknowledged the truth of Trista's words. Then she shook her head...

"Can we go home now?" She said feeling exhausted. "I'm dead...!"

"No you're not." Trista replied with a mischievous look in her eyes as the orb glowed one more time...

* * *

Kiyone awoke in the onsen with a start. She looked around at her surroundings and wondered. _What was that? Was that just a dream? Everything was so vivid!_ She rose from the warm water and reached for her towel. After drying off, she turned to put on her fresh clothes, where she saw the note laying on top of them. Curious, Kiyone opened it:

_Treasure your friends and all their unique gifts._

_Trust in them as they trust in you._

_Believe in yourself and trust in your heart..._

**Sailor Pluto**

_So it wasn't a dream! _Kiyone thought. _It looks like I've got a few things I need to take care of. _She told herself as she reached for her clothes. _And that generator isn't one of them..._

* * *

_"Mihoshi!" _Kiyone called as she looked for her partner. _"Mihoshi...! _

_"_Ah! There you are!" Kiyone exclaimed as she saw her partner come out of the living room looking sad and repentant. "Listen Mihoshi..." She began.

"I'm sorry I always cause so much trouble Kiyone." Mihoshi interupted. "I guess I'm just a big clumsy stupid doofus..."

Kiyone shook her head. "No you're not." Kiyone said. "You are the best friend I could ever hope to have." She said putting her hands on Mihoshi's shoulders. "Someone gave me a chance to take a little time and think about things...

"And I've been neglecting some of the most important ones of all.

"And Mihoshi... If anyone **_EVER_** calls you a 'clumsy stupid doofus'... You tell me.

"Cause I'll kick their butt so hard they'll clear the gravity well! Got that?"

Mihoshi nodded at her, not really understanding.

"Good!" Kiyone said with a big smile. "Now get your jacket! We're going out for sundaes! My treat!"

"Okay!" Mihoshi said happy that her best friend wasn't angry at her any more. In her excitement as she turned to go get her jacket, she tripped over her own feet and fell. Kiyone helped her up, shaking her head.

"Mihoshi... Don't ever change."

* * *

From her lab, Washu closed the barely cracked door with a smile as she turned to her guest.

"Well, Setsuna! Since we're all still here, I take it that the integrity of the timelines has been preserved?"

"Indeed it has." Sailor Pluto smiled. "Time has resumed its proper course."

"I guess you didn't tell Kiyone about the predestination paradox. Did you?"

"No." The Guardian of Time answered. "For Kiyone... It wasn't important for her to know."

"Nice work with Kiyone by the way." Washu commented.

Pluto shrugged. "She merely had a chance to see what she already knew in her heart."

Washu nodded. "Oh! I'll have those modifications to that Luna Ball of yours complete by the end of the day!"

"Thank you, _Little Washu._" Pluto teased the genius slightly. "I appreciate that."

Their conversation was interupted by the sound of a crash and angry shouts coming from outside the lab. Washu and Pluto peeked out the door to look...

_"Get back here Ryoko! This instant!" _Ayeka demanded loudly. Her demands were met with scoffing laughter.

_"Haha! Just make me, Princess!" _Ryoko replied.

"I don't suppose there's anything you can do about those two, is there?" Washu asked.

"I'm afraid not." Pluto answered as she turned away from the door.

"I'm just the Guardian of Time. I don't do miracles..."

* * *

**The End**


End file.
